Congratulations to NCAA Beach Champions, USC

  0 Wendy Mayer | May 07th, 2017 | College - Beach, News, Pac-12

After sweeping through the first three rounds of competition at the NCAA Championship, it took everything No. 1 USC had in its tank to stave off feisty No. 3 seed Pepperdine (27-5) in the title match. Two of the Trojans points came in three-set wins from pairs one and three. With the victory, USC wins its third-straight national title and second straight NCAA Beach Volleyball crown.

“We are heart-pumping, fist-pounding, so excited,” head coach Anna Collier said. “They worked so hard for this. And for the seniors, I am so happy for that fab five, that fantastic five, that furious five. Nicolette Martin, one of them, brought it home. So beautiful.

“Because of the leadership that those seniors brought, they knew they were going to win. Once Sara (Hughes) and Kelly (Claes) won, they were like, ‘it is ours… we’re going to take it home,’ and they did. I am so proud of them I could absolutely cry.”

The Trojans move to 38-1 on the season, marking a school record win tally. The lone setback came at the hands of UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, but USC got payback with a win in the event final.

USC ended the season on a six-match win streak and now boasts a 100-3 mark in recent history.

Top duo Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, which garnered their second-straight Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Year award, went 38-1 on the season. The pair set a national record with a 103-match win streak (April 2, 2015 through April 8, 2017), and rebounded from their lone loss of the year (13-21, 21-18, 17-15 to Saint Mary’s Lindsey Knudsen/Payton Rund) with a 14-match win streak, including wins in all four NCAA duels. Claes/Hughes also won the Pac-12 Pairs Championship.

No. 2 pair Sophie Bukovec and Allie Wheeler clinched the Trojans the Pac-12 title match and finished as runner-up to Claes/Hughes in the Pac-12 Pairs Tournament. Bukovec and Wheeler (25-7) garnered second team Pac-12 All-Conference honors. – Duel)

At No. 3, Terese Cannon and Nicolette Martin posted a 33-6 mark, including wins in all four NCAA matches.

The No. 4 team of Abril Bustamante and Joy Dennis (18-6)  and No. 5 duo of Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer (31-4) rounded out the championship squad.

The full roster of the NCAA Beach Championship squad is below.

## Name Height Year Exp. Hometown/High School/Last College
3 Kelly Claes 6-2 SR 3V Fullerton, Calif./El Dorado HS
5 Sophie Bukovec 6-1 SR 2V Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Bishop Allen Academy/Long Beach State
10 Abril Bustamante 6-0 SO 1V Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union HS
11 Joy Dennis 6-1 FR HS Cypress, Calif./Keystone Academy
12 Allie Wheeler 5-11 SR 3V Saratoga, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS
13 Lainy Thomas 5-10 FR HS Frisco, Texas/Frisco HS
14 Sara Hughes 5-10 SR 3V Costa Mesa, Calif/Mater Dei HS
15 Becca Dunn 5-11 SO 1V San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente HS
20 Katrina Kernochan 5-9 SO 1V Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS
24 Cammie Dorn 6-1 FR HS Laguna Beach, Calif./Laguna Beach HS
25 Jo Kremer 5-8 JR 2V Pacific Palisades, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS/Notre Dame
30 Brianna Sizemore 6-1 JR TR Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS/Point Loma Nazarene
31 Jenna Belton 6-1 JR 2V Aptos, Calif./Aptos HS
35 Nicolette Martin 5-9 SR 3V Anaheim, Calif./Canyon HS
40 Avery Hazelrigg 5-7 FR HS Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS
41 Terese Cannon 6-3 JR 1V Pittsford, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy HS/Georgetown
Coaches
Anna Collier – Head Coach
Ali Wood Lamberson – Assistant Coach
Dain Blanton – Volunteer Assistant Coach
Katie Johnson – Athletic Trainer
Kelly Dormandy – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Jeffrey Liu – Technical Coordinator
Roman Bertozzi – Team Manager
Nick Chuang – Team Manager
Alice Pizzasegola – Team Manager

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About Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer

Wendy Mayer has worked in athletics media relations for the last 20 years. The Northwest Missouri State alumna is currently senior writer for Volleymob.com after spending the last 15 years with Purdue athletics.

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